Theatre seat with folding arm tablet



Jan. 10, 1967 J. B. DOUGLAS 3,297,359

THEATRE SEAT WITH FOLDING ARM TABLET Filed Oct. 1, 1965 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Jan. 10, 1967 Filed Oct. 1. 1965 J. B. DOUGLAS 3,297,359

THEATRE SEAT WITH FOLDING ARM TABLET 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Jan. 10, 1967 Filed 001;. l, 1965 J. B. DOUGLAS THEATRE SEAT WITH FOLDING ARM TABLET 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 "IIHHIITP 7" Jan. 10, 1967 J. B. DOUGLAS THEATRE SEAT WITH FOLDING ARM TABLET 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Oct. 1. 1965 Jan. 10, 1967 J. B/DOUGLAS THEATRE SEAT WITH FOLDING ARM TABLET 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Oct. 1. 1965 United States Patent )filice Patented Jan. 10, 1967 3,297,359 THEATRE SEAT WITH FOLDING ARM TABLET James Bruce Douglas, 5840 McLynn Ava, Montreal, Quebec, Canada Filed Oct. 1, 1965, Ser. No. 492,192 Claims priority, application Canada, Oct. 14, 1964,

Claims. (Cl. 297-162) This invention relates to chairs having tablet arms and is more particularly concerned with a theatre seat having a folding tablet arm assembly.

It is well known to provide tablet arms .on chairs when a writing area is required and space consideration does not permit the use of individual desks or tables. However, to provide such tablets on rows of seats of the type used in theatres or auditoriums is more diflicult, as such seats usually have limited space between rows and the seats in each row are quite close together. A folding tablet must, therefore, be provided in order that persons can seat themselves without difiiculty.

Furthermore, it is highly desirable that the tablet arm be self-storing when not in use so as not to interfere with the use of or detract from the appearance of the theatre seat.

It is a feature of the present invention to provide a folding tablet arm assembly which is easily moved out of the Way to allow persons to seat themselves or to rise from their seat.

A further feature of the present invention is the provision of a folding tablet which is self-storing and which does not interfere with the use of the theatre seat or detract from the appearance of the theatre seat when the tablet is so stored.

A still further feature of this invention is the provision of a theatre seat particularly adapted to have a folding self-storing tablet arm attached thereto.

Accordingly, the present invention provides in combi nation with a seat supported between at least one pair of vertical members, a collapsible tablet assembly associated with an arm rest secured to one of said vertical members, said tablet assembly comprising a member pivotally secured to said arm rest so as to form in one position an extension of said arm rest, a shaft extending longitudinally .of said pivotal member and journalled for axial rotation thereon, a tablet secured to said shaft, and means on the inner end of said shaft cooperating with said arm rest for locking said pivotal member in said one position to prevent downward movement thereof when said tablet is in use.

In the drawings which illustrate a preferred embodiment of the invention,

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a theatre seat including a collapsible tablet arm assembly constructed in accordance with this invention.

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the theatre seat showing the tablet arm in a partially folded position.

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of the theatre seat showing the tablet arm in the fully folded position.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary side elevational view in detail of the tablet arm assembly.

FIG. 5 is a section taken along the line 5-5 of FIG. 4; and

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary perspective view of the lower portion of the theatre seat showing the means for connecting the seat to the floor.

A theatre seat 10 embodying certain features of the present invention is illustrated in the drawings. All parts of the theatre seat to be described are preferably of metal unless otherwise specified.

The theatre seat 10 includes a suitably padded back rest 11 and seat portion 12 supported between a pair of vertical members or supports 14 and 15. The seat 12 is hingedly secured to the supports 14 and 15 in a manner more fully described in my copending Canadian patent application Serial No. 888,141. The supports 14 and 15 preferably comprise heavy guage sheet metal channels substantially rectangular in cross-section and having the opening in the channel directed toward the front of the chair. A lowermost portion 13 of each of the support members is preferably tubular.

In order to eliminate the conventional flange at the base of the vertical support members and the exposed bolts and nuts which tend to interfere with floor cleaning operations, a single mounting bolt 16 has been provided within each of the support members 14 and 15.

As shown more clearly in FIG. 6, an inverted U-shaped channel member 17 is secured in end abutting relationship between opposed side walls of each of the support members 14 and 15. The support members 14 and 15 are identical in this respect and only one need be described. Accordingly, the channel member 17 is provided with an aperture 18 through which the threaded upper end of the mounting bolt 16 is adapted to extend; a nut 19 is threadedly received on the bolt 16. It will be appreciated that access to the bolt 16 may be gained by removing a sheet metal cover plate 40 which is provided to close the open upper end of the tubular portion 13 of the support member 14.

The support member 14 is also provided with a base plate 41 between the lower edges of the member 14 and the surface of the concrete 42. The base plate 41 has a suitable apertured downwardly projection portion 43 adapted to extend into the hole 44 in the concrete to prevent shifting of the plate 41. In addition the base plate 41 is provided with a transversely extending ridge 46 against which the lower edge of the support member 14 is adapted to bear.

The manner of securing the mounting bolt 16 illustrated in FIG. 6 is by way of example only and other arrangements which will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art are considered to be within the scope of the present invention. In the example presented herein, the mounting bolt 16 having an anchor element 47 thereon is placed head down in the hole 44 in the concrete and cemented therein.

An arm rest 20 comprising an inverted U-shaped channel member preferably of metal and suitably padded is secured to each of the supports 14 and 15. It will be appreciated that as the seats are constructed in rows, three vertical members can be used to support two seat portions, in which case, each arm rest 20 is provided with a folding tablet assembly 21 with the exception of the vertical member at the extreme left of each row. The theatre seat which is described and illustrated herein is the one adapted to be situated at the extreme left of a row of seats.

The folding tablet assembly 21 includes a member 22 pivotally secured to the outer end of the arm rest 20 by a bolt 23 passing therethrough (see FIG. 5). The member 22 has a substantially L-shaped cross-section throughout most of its length and is provided with a substantially U-shaped cross-section at the portion through which the bolt 23 passes.

As illustrated more clearly in FIG. 4, a shaft 25 extending longitudinally of the pivotal member 22 is journalled for rotation in apertures 26 and 27 in flanges 28 and 29 respectively disposed at right angles to the pivotal member 22. The flange 29 may be formed integral with the pivotal member 22 whereas the flange 28 is secured to the plate 22 by welding. The outer end of the shaft 25 has a bracket 30 secured thereto which supports a tablet 31 of wood or other suitable material to which the bracket 30 is attached by suitable means such as screws. A further bracket 32 is welded to the shaft 21 adjacent the mid-section thereof and is also adapted to be secured to the tablet 31.

The inner end of the shaft 25 is provided with means co-operating with the arm rest 20 to lock the member 22 in the horizontal position. This means comprises a member 35 welded or otherwise secured to the shaft 25 to rotate therewith. The member 35 is so shaped and dimensioned that when in the positioned illustrated in FIG. 4 (see also broken lines in FIG. 5), it does not prevent pivotal movement of the member 22. However, in the position illustrated in FIG. 5 wherein thetablet 31 is in the horizontal position, the member 35 engages a stop 36 provided on the undersurface of the arm rest 20.

A helical return spring 33 is secured at its upper end to a projection 39 on the member 35 and at its lower end to the pivotal member 22 in any convenient manner. It is important that the projection 39 to which the spring 38 is connected, be substantially over center with respect to the shaft 25. The shaft 25 and attached bracket 30 and tablet 31 are thus resiliently retained in position when rotated fully counterclockwise (as viewed in FIG. 5). Clockwise rotation of the shaft 25, however, causes the return spring 38 to urge the shaft 25 and member 35 in a clockwise direction to the position shown in dashed lines in FIG. 5.

In operation, assuming the tablet arm assembly 21 is in the stored position illustrated in FIG. 3, the assembly 21 is pivoted outwardly and upwardly until the pivotal member 22 forms an extension of the arm rest 20 as illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 4. The tablet 31 is then swung downwardly to a horizontal position illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 5, in which position the member 35 engages the stop 36 to prevent downward movement of pivotal member 22. Furthermore, the return spring 38 yieldably retains the tablet 31 in the horizontal position in the manner described above.

If the seated person wishes to rise from his or her seat, the tablet 31 is easily moved to the vertical position of FIG. 2, and will remain there due to the urging of the return spring 38. There is also sufficient frictional engagement between the mating portions of the pivotal member 22 and the arm rest 20 to retain the former in the extended position.

When the tablet arm assembly 21 is to be moved to the stored position from the operative horizontal position, the tablet 31 is pivoted to the vertical position thus releasing the lock provided between the member 35 and the stop 36. The assembly 21 is then moved through approximately 180 so that the member 21 is partly received in the channel in the underside of the arm rest. The bracket 30 and a portion of the tablet are received in the channel provided in the support 15.

I claim:

1. In a theatre seat including a seat portion mounted between a pair of hollow supports having their lower ends resting on a floor, the improvement comprising an inverted substantially U-shaped channel member secured in end abutting relationship between the internal surfaces of a pair of opposed Walls of each said hollow supporting member, an aperture in said channel member through which a bolt is adapted to extend, said bolt being adapted to be secured to the floor, and a nut threadedly received on the portion of said bolt extending through said aperture, each said hollow supporting member being so constructed as to provide access for positioning and tightening said bolt.

2. In combination with a seat supported between two vertical members and an arm rest secured to one of said vertical members, a collapsible tablet assembly, said tablet assembly comprising a member pivotally secured to said arm rest so as to form in one position an extension of said arm rest, a shaft extending longitudinally of said pivotal member and journalled for axial rotation thereon, a bracket on the outer end of said shaft, a tablet supported by said bracket and adapted to rotate with said shaft so as to be in a vertical plane or a horizontal plane, means on the inner end of said shaft cooperating with said arm rest for locking said pivotal member in said one position to prevent downward movement of the outer end thereof when said tablet is in a horizontal plane and resilient means for urging said tablet toward a horizontal plane.

3. A collapsible tablet assembly as claimed in claim 2 wherein said resilient means is a helical spring, one end of which is secured over center of said shaft, the other end of said spring being secured to said pivotal member, whereby said spring normally urges said tablet to two positions, in one position said tablet being in a vertical plane and in the other position said tablet being in a horizontal plane, said tablet being retained in said horizontal plane when in use.

4. In a theatre seat including a seat portion mounted between a pair of hollow supports having their lower ends resting on the floor, the improvement comprising a transverse member secured between opposed internal Wall surfaces of each said hollow supporting member, an aperture in said transverse member through which a bolt is adapted to extend said bolt being adapted to be secured in said floor and secured to said transverse member, each said hollow supporting member being so constructed as to provide access for positioning and tightening said bolt.

5. In combination with a seat supported between two vertical members, a tablet arm assembly said tablet assembly comprising a member pivotally secured to said arm rest for movement so as to form in one position an extension of said arm rest and so as to be movable to a stored position wherein said member is substantially horizontally disposed beneath said arm rest, a shaft extending longitudinally of said pivotal member and journalled for axial rotation thereon, a bracket on the outer end of said shaft, a tablet supported by said bracket and adapted to rotate with said shaft so as to be in a vertical plane or a horizontal plane, means on the inner end of said shaft cooperating with said arm rest for locking said pivotal member in said one position to prevent downward movement of the outer end thereof when said tablet is in a horizontal plane.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 606,112 6/1898 Armour et a1 297257 1,599,745 9/1926 Cinnamond 52704 X 2,675,062 4/1954 Clarin 297162 X 2,772,560 12/1956 Neptune 52704 X 3,077,364 2/ 1963 Eppink 297335 X 3,140,894 7/ 1964 Hicke 297162 3,197,253 7/1965 Brown 297162 X 3,197,254 7/ 1965 Hendrickson 297162 3,233,939 2/ 1966 Chapman 297162 FOREIGN PATENTS 126,246 7/ 1961 France.

173,346 2/ 1935 Switzerland.

FRANK B. SHERRY, Primary Examiner.

J. T. MCCALL, Assistant Examiner. 

1. IN A THEATRE SEAT INCLUDING A SEAT PORTION MOUNTED BETWEEN A PAIR OF HOLLOW SUPPORTS HAVING THEIR LOWER ENDS RESTING ON A FLOOR, THE IMPROVEMENT COMPRISING AN INVERTED SUBSTANTIALLY U-SHAPED CHANNEL MEMBER SECURED IN END ABUTTING RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE INTERNAL SURFACES OF A PAIR OF OPPOSED WALLS OF EACH SAID HOLLOW SUPPORTING MEMBER, AN APERTURE IN SAID CHANNEL MEMBER THROUGH WHICH A BOLT IS ADAPTED TO EXTEND, SAID BOLT BEING ADAPTED TO BE SECURED TO THE FLOOR, AND A NUT THREADEDLY RECEIVED ON THE PORTION OF SAID BOLT EXTENDING THROUGH SAID APERTURE, EACH SAID HOLLOW SUPPORTING MEMBER BEING SO CONSTRUCTED AS TO PROVIDE ACCESS FOR POSITIONING AND TIGHTENING SAID BOLT. 